Folding bed.



PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

R. L. FREELAND.

FOLDING BED.

APPLIOATION rum) 3.20, 1901.

WITNESSES.

ROBERT LEE FREELAND, OF ARGENTA, ARKANSAS.

FOLDING BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented July 30,1907.

Application filed April 20. 1907. Serial No. 369.313.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT LEE FREELAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Argenta, in the,

county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and useful Folding Bed, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in folding beds, and it has for its purpose to provide an improved device of this character that can be readily taken apart for transportation or storage and can be made and sold at small cost, the frame being capable of use in connection with cots and beds of various construction and is adapted to serve as a clothes closet when not employed as a bed frame, an improved device being provided for retaining the bed clothing in place while the bed is invertical position.

To these and other ends, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out particularly in the appended claims/ In the accompanying drawing:-Figure l is a perspective view of a folding bed constructed in accordance with my present invention, the parts being shown in open position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the cooperating sections of thetop and one of the side sections. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View showing the hinge connection between the bed or cot and the foot board of the frame. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of one end of the cot showing the device employed for retaining the bed clothing in place. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing another mode of joining the foot-board to the side sections of the supporting frame.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

The folding bed shown in the present embodiment of the invention comprises, generally, a relatively fixed upright frame and a cot or bed mounted to move into and out of folded relation therewith, the cot or .bed being either of a special form to accompany the frame, or the'frames may be constructed to accommodatecots or beds of the ordinary or any other form and dimension.

The frame shown embodies a pair of uprights or side sections 1 and 2 preferably provided at their lower ends with feet or enlargements 3 and 4 for affording sufficient stability to the frame. Between the forward edges of the side sections and the cooperating portions of the feet are formed a pair of tapered recesses 5 and 6 adapted to receive a wedge-shaped foot board 7, the downward movement of the latter serving to tighten it and thus hold it firmly in place.

In order to prevent separation of the lower ends of the side sections, the latter are preferably provided with vertically extending grooves 8 which extend vertically in their forward edges, and the foot board is provided at. a point adjacent to its ends with a pair of guides 9 adapted to fit into the corresponding grooves and thus prevent lateral movement of the side sections relatively to the foot board. This guide may be of any desired form, that shown embodying a rod having an intermediate portion projecting beyond the rear surface of the foot board and into the groove, and it has its ends 10 extending into the foot board to secure it in place. i

The upper ends of the side sections are reduced in width and fitted between the cross pieces 11 and 12 at each end of the top section, wedges l3 entering between the upper ends of the side sections and the cross pieces 11 to firmly secure the side sections in fixed relation to the top section.

The top section may be of any desired construction, that shown comprising front and rear boards 14 and 15 between which the cross pieces 11 and 12 extend. The top section is preferably provided with fixtures for supporting a curtain which may be utilized to conceal the bed when the latter is in folded position, these fixtures embodying, in the present instance, a yokeshapcd rod 16 adapted to fit around the twosides and across the front of the top section, and it is suitably spaced therefrom to admit the curtains l7 and 18, the latter being drawn aside, or into the position shown in Fig. I when the bed is open, and when the latter is closed, the curtains are drawn together. The curtain rod is supported on its ends by means of screw eyes or staples 19 cooperating with hooks 20 formed in the ends of the rod, pins or projections 21 serving to support the rod in horizontal or operative position, the hook and eye connection between the rod and top permitting relative pivotal movement of the rod that will carry the latter into an inoperative position.

The foot board 7 serves as a support for one end of the cot or bed, and a suitable pivotal connection is employed between these parts which will permit the cot or bed to assume either a horizontal or a vertical position, the hinge connection shown in the present embodiment of my invention being relatively cheap and easily applied and the pivotal center is so located that the weight of the cot or bed, when the latter is in vertical position, will operate to support it. This device consists of a pair of staples 22 secured to the rear side of the foot-board just below the upper edge thereof and a cooperating member 23 is secured to the underside of the rails or side boards of the bed or cot, these members being bent to form hooks 24 adapted to engage between the staples and the rear surface of the foot board. The

members are engaged while the bed or cot is in vertical or folded position, the ends of the hooks 24 being inserted into the staples by a movement substantially parallel to the rear surface of the foot board, and as these hooks are offset forwardly of the center of gravity of the bed, the weight of the latter will operate to swing the bed backwardly, causing that portion of the, bed below the hooks to cooperate with the rear surface of the foot board. When the bed is lowered it turns about the staples as centers, and when in horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 3, the hook will engage beneath the staple to hold the bed in cooperative relation with the upper edge of the foot board, and as the hook also engages between the staple and the foot board,

. relative longitudinal movement of the bed in a horizontal plane is prevented, so that accidental disengagement of the bed and frame while the bed is in use cannot occur.

It is desirable in a device of this kind to provide suitable means for retaining the bed clothing in proper order when the bed is in vertical position, the device shown in the present instance embodying a tape or band 25 having one end attached to the under side of one of the bed rails and provided with a winding device 26 at its opposite end, the winding device embodying a shaft journaled in suitable bearings 27 secured to the under side of the bed frame that will permit an axial, as well as a rotary, movement of the shaft, a stop 28 on the shaft limiting the axial movement of the shaft in one direction, The outer end of the shaft is provided with an operating crank 29 that is capable of being operated when the shaft is moved to the limit of its movement in one direction, and when the shaft is moved in the opposite direction it is carried beyond a cross rail 30, and it cooperates therewith as a lock to prevent unwinding movement thereof.

In order to employ the frame as a clothes closet, the bed or cot' is removed therefrom by a relative lifting movement while it occupies a vertical or folded position, and hooks or other suitable supporting devices are fitted within the frame, the curtains being drawn across the front of the frame to provide a closure to conceal and protect the contents thereof.

It will be understood, of course, that the dimensions I and specific construction of the frame may be varied, as required, to suit the conditions of each case, the form shown being but one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 shows another mode of detachably connecting the foot-board to the side sections, the latter being provided at their inner sides with vertically extending dovetail grooves 31 to slidingly rceive the correspondingly dovetailed ends 32 of the foot-board, thereby insuring a firm fit, while the construction enables the parts to be readily set up or taken apart.

What is claimed is:

1. In a folding bed, a frame embodying side sections having grooves toward their lower ends, a foot board con necting the side sections having guides thereon cooperating with the grooves of the side sections to prevent separation of the latter, and a top for connecting the upper ends of ,the side sections,

2. In a folding bed, a supporting frame embodying side sections having vertically extending guiding grooves, a foot board extending transversely of the side sections and having guides thereon cooperating with the grooves in the side sections for preventing separation of the latter, a top section connecting the upper ends of the side sections, and wedges for rigidly uniting the top and side sections.

3. In a folding bed, a frame embodying side sections having vertically extending grooves toward their lower ends, feet on the lower ends of said sections, tapered recesses being formed between the feet and their respective side sections, a foot board having wedge-shaped portions adapted to fit the said recesses, and vertically extending guides on the foot board adapted to coiiperate with the said grooves of the side sections to prevent separation of the latter.

4. A knockdown frame for folding beds embodying side sections, a top section connecting them, wedges for rigidly uniting the top and side sections, feet on the lower ends of the side sections forming tapered recesses between them and the side sections, the edges of the latter being provided with vertically extending guiding grooves extending into said recesses, and a removable foot board having tapered portions adapted to fit the correspondingly'shaped recesses, and vertically arranged guides adapted to. 006p erate with the guiding grooves of the side sections for preventing relative separation thereof.

5. In a knockdown folding bed, the combination with a frame embodying vertical side sections, .a footboard removably fitted into the lower portion of the frame and having means for preventing spreading of the side sections, and a detachable top fitting the upper ends of the side sections having wedges for rigidly uniting the top and side sections, of a bed adapted to swing into and out of the frame, and detachable coiiperating hinge members for pivotally connecting the bed and the upper edge of the foot board.

6. In a knockdown folding bed, the combination with a i frame embodying a pair of. vertical side sections having feet at their lower ends provided with tapered recesses, a foot-board having wedgeshaped portions adapted to cooperate with the said recesses, a top having cross pieces at its opposite ends between which the upper ends of the side sections are adapted to engage, and wedges interposed between the side sections and the cross pieces of the top for detachably securing the latter in cooperative relation with the side sections, of a bed, and detachable hinge members for pivotally connecting the bed and the foot board.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT LEE FREELAND. 

